Monster HTS3600 MKII Power Conditioner

[skrol]

Do power conditioners really improve sound quality? Logic would say No, but perhaps they can reduce the detriment in sound quality caused by line noise. I am still skeptical since any decent quality audio equipment should have decent power supply filtering built in. Also, could adding another piece of equipment upstream in series with the power supply be detrimental. The thinking here might be that under heavy load, such as a power amp, the conditioner may add impedance between the wall power and the amplifier.:confused:

I have been curious about the claims of power conditioners by the manufacturers and by the owners. Some owners seem to swear by them while others say that they are a waste of money and to just get a good surge protector. Anyway, like many of us, I was rummaging through the left-overs at CC and found a Monster HTS3600 MKII. If I was going to buy a conditioner, I didn't want one this BIG but the price was right. The sales guy couldn't find it in their system and asked me if I thought $150 was a fair price. I told him $130 and you have a deal :D SOLD!

My testing is extremely limited. I plugged it into the wall, plugged my DRA-825R into the "Receiver" outlet and my DVD-2910 into the "DVD" outlet. Success!, it all turned on :rolleyes:.

Out of curiosity I stuck a disk in (Come Away With Me - SACD). As much of my testing is late at night (my family just doesn't understand) I am limited to headphones. My initial thought was, "Dang! That sounds pretty good". The vocals were silkier and the piano was more piano like (for lack of a better description). Could the conditioner really be doing something or is it just psycho? I switched back to my Tripp Lite Isobar-4. The silkiness went away. I switched back to the Monster and the SQ was back. Go figure.

I haven't tried the system under load yet. The DRA-825R already has pretty good supply filtering. I suspect that the improvement that I am hearing may be due to better input filtering for the DVD player.

I may play with different configurations but that is just a science project. The bottom line is that I seemed to reap sonic benefits by filtering the power supply.

[thuffman03]

Some say yes and some say no to weather it makes a difference. I have not tested so I cannot say.

I have been looking at a Tripp Lite ups to put on my systems. I figure a sine wave power conditioner and a ups in one. Will help if you get a lot of brown outs or loose power. This will help save your amp.

http://www.tripplite.com/EN/products/model.cfm?txtModelID=3826

[skrol]

A conditioner and UPS all-in-one does seem like a great solution. The price tag would be hard for me to justify, MSRP $1001.00 :eek:.

[BigMac]

I have been looking at these the last few days and I have narrowed it down to one by APC. The reason I chose this one is for the price and the bang for the buck. Lots of choices out there but for my budget I think this will do nicely. Look forward to see if it makes any difference in sound. Glad to see that these CAN make an audible difference.

http://store.audioholics.com/product/717/108/apc-av-h15-1-5kva-h-type-power-conditioner---silver?gclid=CLnYr9ft5pgCFQpuGgod2kxhcA

[fossy]

Do power conditioners really improve sound quality? Logic would say No, but perhaps they can reduce the detriment in sound quality caused by line noise. I am still skeptical since any decent quality audio equipment should have decent power supply filtering built in. Also, could adding another piece of equipment upstream in series with the power supply be detrimental. The thinking here might be that under heavy load, such as a power amp, the conditioner may add impedance between the wall power and the amplifier.:confused:

I have been curious about the claims of power conditioners by the manufacturers and by the owners. Some owners seem to swear by them while others say that they are a waste of money and to just get a good surge protector. Anyway, like many of us, I was rummaging through the left-overs at CC and found a Monster HTS3600 MKII. If I was going to buy a conditioner, I didn't want one this BIG but the price was right. The sales guy couldn't find it in their system and asked me if I thought $150 was a fair price. I told him $130 and you have a deal :D SOLD!

My testing is extremely limited. I plugged it into the wall, plugged my DRA-825R into the "Receiver" outlet and my DVD-2910 into the "DVD" outlet. Success!, it all turned on :rolleyes:.

Out of curiosity I stuck a disk in (Come Away With Me - SACD). As much of my testing is late at night (my family just doesn't understand) I am limited to headphones. My initial thought was, "Dang! That sounds pretty good". The vocals were silkier and the piano was more piano like (for lack of a better description). Could the conditioner really be doing something or is it just psycho? I switched back to my Tripp Lite Isobar-4. The silkiness went away. I switched back to the Monster and the SQ was back. Go figure.

I haven't tried the system under load yet. The DRA-825R already has pretty good supply filtering. I suspect that the improvement that I am hearing may be due to better input filtering for the DVD player.

I may play with different configurations but that is just a science project. The bottom line is that I seemed to reap sonic benefits by filtering the power supply.

Your story is inspiring as I wait for a APC to be delivered today. As usual , I must be last delivery of the day, as it's after 4 .:mad:

[skrol]

That's a good deal. Hope you get it soon. I'm curious if you notice a difference but it may be driven more by the design of your components power supplies and by the line noise at your house.

I am pondering a more scientific analysis by hooking my O-scope up to my DVD-2910 power supply output to check the noise level with and without the conditioner.

[thuffman03]

Can't go wrong with the price on APC. There are other Trip Light's that go for much less. I just picked one to put into the thread. I have seen smaller units go for mid $400's.

[avhomedesigns]

Power Conditioner do not impact sound near as they do video quality

[skrol]

Power Conditioner do not impact sound near as they do video quality

Is that due to the lack of good PS filtering in the video equipment? I would assume that if the PS was robust enough then it would not matter for video either.

[javygonx]

I have his little brother HTS1600. I dont have any problems of electricity at home, but I bought it for $90 at CC. I give it a try. My receiver Marantz, sometimes I saw some kind of interference (lots of points randomly at the screen) which lasts for like 15 seconds.

After I put the HTS1600 that problem was gone completely. About sounds its pretty hard too see if there' a difference, but if for video works for me, Im pretty sure will help audio also. If you can get the the HTS3600 for that price then GET IT. BTW Looks awesome on the HT Equipment

[BigMac]

Well I almost ordered the APC but since I live near a Circuit City I thought I would go take a look at what was left. Upon arrival it looked like a festival or something. I guess they just dropped prices again and that is why it was sooooo crazy. Anyways, I picked up 2 Monster HTS 950 for $39.00 each. I connected one for my audio/video and I did notice a small improvement. The improvement comes by the way of silence, a little tighter bass and an overall cleaner sound (a small improvement). At this point though it may just be my imagination. Will report back after I do some "real" listening.

[fossy]

I hooked up the APC H15 yesterday & did quiet a bit of listening. Definite sonic improvements..I am beginning to believe that the power to this house is "bad" or something.... APC was reading anywhere from 121 - 124 .. when the voltage hits 124 , the APC corrected it back to 117 . Is the fluctuation normal ????? Does anyone else have fluctuations in that range ?

Sonic improvements are there. Little bit tighter bass & it seemed I didn't have to push the volume as high to get same loudness as before ( I need a SPL meter).On some cd's, it seems to be a bit to bright now.I might have to take out a pair of silver connects as I have 2 pair in the system. CD to pre & pre to amp.

Also , going between CD's(what I listen to 95% of the time) the sound seemed more consistent , from the "good" recordings to the "not as good" recordings.

All in all , I'm happy with the PC. I have been wanting to try one & for $150, I couldn't pass it up.

HK 3485
Parasound hca 1200 MkII
Original CD- A8 (still lovin it Thanks doro )
LSI9's
Velo F-1200

oooo yea -- didn't really notice much improvement on TV picture but I didn't watch much

[Zero]

Unless your wiring is not up to code, typically a power conditioner will only cripple your audio quality, be it Belkin, APC, Monster, Bryston, McIntosh, Shunyata, Audience, etc...

[fossy]

Do tell ..... Why would a PC cripple AQ ???